What stands to be a very important season on and off the ice for the Plymouth Whalers is set to open this weekend.

The 25th season for the Peter Karmanos-owned Ontario Hockey League franchise will be a lot different than one can remember simply because Farmington native Mike Vellucci is gone.

Vellucci, the longtime president/general manager and head coach of the team, left after last season to join the braintrust of the National Hockey League's Carolina Hurricanes (also owned by Karmanos, by the way). Vellucci presided over a team that made the OHL playoffs 23 consecutive seasons.

Will there be a 26th season in metro Detroit when 2015-16 rolls around? That remains in question because last spring Karmanos did not dismiss rumors the team might be on the move if attendance at Compuware Arena does not pick up substantially from last year's estimated 2,500 per contest.

The first chance for local fans to back the Whalers is 7 p.m. Saturday against the Erie Otters. (Plymouth actually begins the 2014-15 season on the road, Friday at London.)

"I'm definitely looking forward to the opener," said forward Danny Vanderwiel, entering his fourth season with the Whalers. "People should definitely come out, give us a look. Help us get our attendance up.

"Whalers games are a lot of fun, it's good hockey, it's good-paced hockey, just a bunch of kids trying to battle to make their dreams come true."

Sonny days ahead

There is more of a buzz around the Beck Road arena this fall, perhaps because of the now-delayed arrival of forward Sonny Milano, who is out for an undetermined period following facial fractures suffered at the recent NHL prospects camp in Traverse City.

Whenever Milano — who spurned the Division I men's hockey program at Boston College for the OHL — does make it back to Plymouth, fans could be watching the team's most electrifying performer since Tyler Seguin starred for two seasons.

"We're just going to play with they guys we have," first-year head coach Don Elland said. "There's no contingency plan as far as bringing someone in. We'll do what he can until he (Milano) gets back in the lineup. Just like if someone went away to camp."

The longtime youth hockey coach at Compuware was part of Vellucci's coaching staff the past five seasons, so there promises to be a seamless transition from the Vellucca era. The coaching staff also includes popular former Whaler John Vigilante.

Taking over as the general manager is Mark Craig, also no stranger to youth hockey in the area. Mike Vellucci, in addition to his duties with the Hurricanes, will remain involved as the Whalers' governor for OHL matters.

"I'm excited, it's been great," said Elland, asked about picking up where Vellucci left off. "Learning a lot from Mike, the transition's been smooth. Obviously, I'm anxious to get the season started, anxious to get everybody back from camp and see what we have."

And therein lies the rub as the Whalers try to get off to a good start in the OHL West Division standings.

Because a number of players are prospects for NHL teams, they either remain in big league camps or are returning to Compuware Arena in Plymouth Twp. just a couple days ahead of the official puck drop for the season.

Helping Ned

Standout goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who has been in the Carolina camp, may or may not be ready for the opening games. If he isn't, backup Zack Bowman will play.

Nedeljkovic was instrumental to the Whalers even qualifying for the playoffs last season, often seeing 50-plus shots per game and earning OHL Goalie of the Year honors for his efforts. He made 2,042 saves and posted a .925 save percentage, helping Plymouth to a 28-33-0-7 record.

"Everyone says it's easy because you have the best goalie in the league coming back, and we do," Elland said. "We're going to rely on him. But we should have better expectations than just 'Hey, we have the best goalie in the league, so let's just rely on him.'

"Hopefully he has a great year, both for him and for us. But hopefully we're not relying on him like we did last year, 50-60 shots a night. If we're doing that, than we're doing something wrong."

Another defenseman, Alex Peters, did return from the Dallas Stars prospect camp and will be ready to face the Knights Friday.

Peters is one of the leaders who will look to help young blueliners such as Tyler Sensky (who hails from Canton).

"I have a lot of confidence in our team," said Peters, late last week. "I think we could do a lot of good things this year.

"Once we get everybody back (from NHL camps) and start working more in systems, I think we have an opportunity to make a run for the playoffs for sure and see how far we go."

Peters, fully healthy after an injury-plagued 2013-14, embraces the opportunity to lead.

"I'm an older guy now, we have a lot of new guys to the league and on our team. So I'm just trying to help out as much as I can, in any way I can, just by giving a couple tips around the (locker) room.

"... I think we're going to be a lot more aggressive this year. We're going to be hard on the teams and not give them any space."

Breaking it down

The Whalers look to be tough at the offensive end of the rink, too.

Elland is confident that Milano won't need long to make up for any lost time, and that veterans who had somewhat down seasons in 2013-14 will bounce back.

"I think Misty (Mistele) is going to have a huge year," said Elland, reminding that Mistele was a 35-goal scorer two seasons ago. "I think he's been great in camp. I'd go so far as to say Misty's been our best player. Every game that he's dressed in training camp he's been the best player on the ice.

"Victor's going to have a great year. Chats should have a bigger role offensively than he had last year and put up more points. Those three guys we're going to rely on until Sonny gets back."

Mistele netted 18 goals and 19 assists for 37 points last season while Crus Rydberg (12-26-38) and Chatham (13-18-31) all had their moments.

Also back is elusive center Francesco Vilardo, who showed plenty of promise with 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points last year.

Two newcomers also have the chance to keep game statisticians busy, namely center Mathew Campagna (acquired from Sudbury in an August trade) and promising rookie forward Will Bitten.

"He's a great point guy, but more importantly he's a kid that we can use on the power play, killing penalties, 5-on-5 late in a game whether we're up a goal or down a goal," said Elland about Campagna. "He's got tremendous experience, he's a good two-way player."

As for Bitten, the coach said the youngster will be heard from, hopefully sooner than later.

"I see him making an impact, I don't know if it's right away," Elland continued. "I don't care how good you are, in this league there's very few guys that come in and there's not an adjustment period.

"Although Wil's been great in training camp, once the regular starts it's even more intense. There's going to be an adjustment period for him, but there's no doubt he's going to be a really, really good player."

Opportunity

Several others have the opportunity to play much bigger roles, namely blue-collar forward Vanderwiel, left wing Liam Dunda and center Cullen Mercer.

"Danny is a great skater, he's great on the forecheck," Elland said. "He really gets in and really pressures their D, he helps us kills penalties, he's a great two-way player.

"He can be physical when he needs to be. he's just got to keep doing what he's doing and understand that, even though he doesn't put up a ton of points he is still very valuable."

Also in the mix will be Bryce Yetman, Connor Sills, Brook Hiddink, Vincent Scognamiglio and Nicholas Caamano.

Along with Peters and Wesley, the Whalers' defense will include veterans Gianluca Curcuruto (who possesses a wicked point shot), Mitch Jones (Rochester), Mathieu Henderson, Yannick Rathgeb as well as younger players Sensky and Alex DiCarlo.

"Chinner's always going to be a factor on the power play because of his shot and because he skates so well," noted Elland, referring to Curcuruto. "That's a 20-year-old in our league, he should be dominant every night. Every night he should make a difference. He knows what an important year this is."

tsmith@hometownlife.com

Twitter: @TimSmith_Sports

WHALERS ARE BACK

What: Plymouth Whalers open the 2014-15 Ontario Hockey League season this weekend.

When: After the Whalers visit London Friday night to open the schedule, they host Erie 7 p.m. Saturday at Compuware Arena.